Do You think RA and Panic Attacks or Anxiety are linked.
I feel like sometimes I get panic attacks and worry over nothing, and I never used to be this way. I often wonder If my RA caused these or do they go hand in hand?? Any advice would be great!!!
I have never seen anything that said that anxiety attacks are a symptom of RA or are related to RA. However, there is some question as to whether or not there is a link between hormones and RA, and hormones and emotions tend to work against each other at times. I am sure in a round about way, it is possible. But they would still be treated as two seperate conditions.There is a difference in unneccesary worry and a true anxiety attack. If you are having chest tightness, difficulty catching your breath, break out into a sweat, or other physical symptoms, you are having a real anxiety attack. If you just feel like you are worried about something that you know is not a big deal, that is more of a stress reaction. Just the stress caused by accepting a disease, taking new meds, changes in finances due to missed work, etc...can make you worry alot. That is normal, things like meditation and guided imagery work well for that.yes, anxiety is a symptom of RA.
Some get it some don't, also I know that prednisone can also make that worse.
I had anxiety for years before i knew it was RA that i had. With my medications, most of it is finally gone which is wonderful.
I think anxiety is part of it also. It is not a real panic attack like Crunchy said. My daughter gets those and they are a different animal altogether. For her, it's like a huge chemical rush that I compare to a freight train going through her body. She had absolutely no control over it, can describe it to me completely, but cannot stop it on her own.
Since she's been on medication for it, she rarely has them any more. Before, she had them up to 5 times a day. Not fun.
A lot of people here have talked about both anxiety and depression. It seems to be very common. And I do think that is because this disease is so variable that you are always waiting for the other shoe to drop all the time and then, you are also in so much pain, adding to the depression.
We all worry about not only the current problems of the day, but if it is this bad now, how much worse is it going to be. That is a normal reaction to a chronic illness.
However, you don't have to suffer with this. Talking to your doctor, either your GP or RD can get you on something that helps calm some of that anxiety down. And, that will put less stress overall on your body.
Thanks for all your comments, I think I just worry more over things that I shouldn't be, I don't get short of breath or anything like that. I only seem to be like this when I have flare ups. I also have little patience, and have to stop and calm myself before I get angry over little things the kids do.Oh yeah, feeling like crap will surely make you feel like eating your young!
You prob arent worried about things you shouldent be worried about, you just have alot more to worry about now than you have in the past. That isnt an anxiety attack, that is just stress, that is normal. http://www.ra.com/ra/rastore/cgi-bin/PrintFriendly_Cat_20014 8_NavRoot_301_ProdID_200171.htm This is a nice article about RA and stress/symptoms Really good article, Crunchy. Jewel-ee, my kids are now out of the house. But I just learned to be honest with them. I'd tell them that I was not feeling good and conseqeuntly I might be harder to get along with. Since that meant they might get their heads bit off for not doing anything, it was not long before they learned to back off during those times. Your kids will become very perceptive about how you are feeling. If you can teach them how you want them to react during those times, you will feel less guilty about it and they will feel less helpless. Also, children, even small ones love to feel important and to help. When you're having a worse day, give each of them something that they can do for you. Even a small child can understand to bring you a pillow. Make something like that their job. Older children provide more opportunity. Then, on good days, give them extra attention. I've always tried to spend special time with each kid. When the opportunity allowed, I would sneak one of the kids away to do something that was just special to them. Then I would do it with the other one. They didn't always know what I was doing with the other one, but that didn't seem to matter because they always knew that it was going to happen to them again real soon. Sometimes, you are just going to have to say no. No, you can't bake cookies for this. No, you can't do this. You can't do what you did before. Life has changed. They have to accept that because they have to accept the hard things in life. You may be thinking that you are not giving them enough. But in actuallity you are giving them survival skills, teaching them to care about other members of the family and not just themselves. You are building their character and their own self-reliance. And hopefully, they will also learn compassion. When I tell the kids that I can't do something right now, I will do it with them later when my strength is up. At first, this was a battle, because they were teenagers. Now, it is understood and respected. And, I always follow up on my promise to do as soon as I am able. My kids have become my strongest and dearest supporters. Wow That sure is a great article, Thanks so much for sharing it and to everyone else for the advice.
This thread has been so supportive for me. It has made me feel like I am not alone. Thanks guys.
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